Lowrance Fishfinder/chartplotter Question

[MASTERBrian]

I'm trying to find a relatively inexpensive unit to put on my pontoon boat. I think I've decided on the Lowrance Elite 4 HDI unit. What I can't decide is if I need to go with the Gold or not. I spoke briefly with someone at Lowrance and I thought he said the Gold included better mapping of lakes and coastal waters, but I can't see to what degree. Can anyone possibly answer that for me. I live in the midwest, so I don't visit coastal waters, this boat will only be used on inland bodies of water. Is the gold mapping feature really necessary for me?

I'm also open to other suggestions on units similar, but don't want to go much bigger or much over the $300 price range. Color also isn't a huge factor, I don't do lots of fishing, but do what the capability. I also want GPS and I like the option of seeing the structures on the bottom to some degree!

Thanks for any incite. Went to the Gander Mountain near me earlier, but they didn't have anyone that apparently wanted to help, nor did they have much of a display.

 

[Captain Caveman]

I probably don't have a great insight for you, but was in a similar situation this spring. I wanted a little more and got the Lowrance Elite 7 HDI. It seems to me that the Gold just automatically adds in a Navionics chip to the package. I'm in Minnesota and bought the Lakemaster chip with mine and it works great.

 

[Alan Lloys]

I have a Lowrance Mark 4 which is the B/W version of the elite 4. It worked out pretty good for me but I found a great deal on an Elite 5 DSI gold for about $ 299.00
The gold means that it comes with a mapping chip that does give better details.
That being said it is a "reduced" version of the regular Navionics chip so it does not have all the same data as the full version.

I ended up buying a used Great Lakes Navionics chip and it made a big difference in the mapping detail.

The Elite 5 is bigger but the biggest upgrade was really the color. It made it a lot easier to see in the sunlight.

Based on your description I would probably get the regular version and see what is all mapped on there. The details vary a lot from area to area.
You can always look for the add on chips later if you feel you need them.

 

[Alan Lloys]

I have a Lowrance Mark 4 which is the B/W version of the elite 4. It worked out pretty good for me but I found a great deal on an Elite 5 DSI gold for about $ 299.00
The gold means that it comes with a mapping chip that does give better details.
That being said it is a "reduced" version of the regular Navionics chip so it does not have all the same data as the full version.
I ended up buying a used Great Lakes Navionics chip and it made a big difference in the mapping detail.

The Elite 5 is bigger but the biggest upgrade was really the color. It made it a lot easier to see in the sunlight.
Based on your description I would probably get the regular version and see what is all mapped on there. The details vary a lot from area to area.
You can always look for the add on chips later if you feel you need them.

 

[Nathan R]

I recently (last week) bought a raymarine dragonfly 5.7 and a lowrance elite 4 gold. If you don't mind ordering online you should check out hodges marine. They had the best prices that I could find. I don't know how their pricing works, but if you scroll through the list you will find many different prices for the same or similar items. Find the best deal and order it, that's what I did.

 

[MASTERBrian]

Thanks for the info. I went to a Cabellas and looked at a few. I ended up with the Mark 4, basically because I decided all I was paying for was $100 more for color and something else that didn't matter. The stock base map is fine for what I needed! I also decided if I wanted more features I can always mount this one up front or on my other boat!